Sweet Tooth
by AngelRosemary
Summary: Ever since the Door Lord incident, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline's relationship is still a little rough around the edges. Can two new friends change that?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello, Angel Rosemary here. I've been reading fan fictions for a while now, and I finally got the nerve to sign up and write my first story. All reviews are appreciated. Criticism is welcomed with open arms. This is a Princess Bubblegum and Marceline **_**friendship**_** story, as these are far and few between compared to their couple stories. I have no problems with people supporting them as a couple, of course; I'm merely trying something that isn't done very often. With no further ado, enjoy the first chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Adventure Time belongs to Pendleton Ward. I own nothing except my two OCs. **

"Got that, boys?"

"Eh, what?"

"Jake, were you even listening?"

"No. Sorry Princess, I was distracted by this bug. It was blue, like Finn's shirt, but darker, and it had spots shaped like stars, only smaller, and its eyes reminded me of mom… What was the question?"

Princess Bubblegum let out a frustrated sigh. "I'll explain this one more time. Finn, I need you and Jake to go to the Cloud Kingdom and take down the Cloud King. He's been making some wicked crazy weather lately. I thought the wind from that storm last night was going to blow the whole Candy Kingdom away. "

"You can count on us, PB!" Finn said enthusiastically.

"Excellent," Princess Bubblegum said with a smile. "I'll warn you, it may take you a while to find the Cloud King's castle. It's constantly changing locations because the wind moves it in the sky. Still, you should have no trouble finding the Cloud Kingdom. It's right-"

"Up my butt."

"-up my butt." Princess Bubblegum's eyes widened when she realized what she had just said. She whipped around to face the source of the unexpected voice. "_Marceline…_"

Marceline floated down from her spot in the beams supporting the roof of the candy castle. "Hey Bonnie," she replied with a casual grin. "'Sup, guys."

"Hey Marcie," Finn and Jake said in unison.

"Marceline," Princess Bubblegum said through clenched teeth. "What a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Marceline shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd take a break to skulk around the castle of my second favorite candy royalty. Something wrong, Princess?"

Princess Bubblegum closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "I'm fine, thanks." She turned back to Finn and Jake. "Anyway, good luck guys. Be back soon!"

"Will do, Peebles!" Finn shouted as he climbed onto Jake's back. "Hey Jake, what time is it?"

"Adventure time?"

"Heck yes!"

With that, Jake jumped out an open window and took off into the distance. Princess Bubblegum and Marceline watched them go, and then glanced awkwardly at one another.

Princess Bubblegum shifted around uncomfortably. "I'm just going to…go…for a walk."

Marceline smirked at her. "Yeah, I'd better go too. I still need to move my stuff into the tree house. They won't mind if I crash there while they're gone, right?" She winked and flew out the same open window that had been previously used.

When Princess Bubblegum was sure Marceline was out of earshot, she groaned and stamped her foot against the sugary carpet. She then made her way outside to the royal candy gardens.

As she passed countless lollipop flowers and jellybean trees, she couldn't help thinking about the Vampire Queen. Their relationship… wasn't quite as **bad** after the Door Lord incident, but things were definitely still rough. Finn had insisted that the group have regular jam sessions so they could all try to hang out as buds. They made a pact before their first session to not argue in front of Finn and Jake. However, there was so much left unsaid that it was still pretty tense.

"Why does she have to be so confusing?" Princess Bubblegum muttered to herself. "First, she acts all upset and says that our fight was all my fault. Then she says that she wants to make up. Now, every time I turn around, she's sitting there, watching me. She's so infuriating! I mean-she just-uggghhh!"

She growled and kicked a nearby peppermint. Then she slumped and sat down.

"_Urg…"_

Princess Bubblegum jumped and looked at the object she had just sat on. She realized with horror that it was an unconscious body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I don't have much to say this time. I just wanted to thank my first reviewer, Ichigo Konayuki. Is it odd that I did a little happy dance when I saw that someone actually reviewed? Anyway, enjoy chapter two.**

Princess Bubblegum dabbed a cool, wet wash cloth on the face of her unconscious guest. Upon calling for her banana cake guards, they had whisked the wounded candy person up to the Princess's royal bed chamber, where she insisted upon personally overseeing her recuperation.

Now, Princess Bubblegum had the opportunity to make some observations on her visitor's appearance. The person in question was clearly a girl, and about thirteen years old, Finn's age. She had a human form, but seemed consist of some sort of hard candy, like someone had melted multiple packs of lifesavers and poured them into a human mold. She was a multicolored, a different color of the rainbow for each body part, from her sunny yellow hair to her ruby red fingertips. She wore a set of purple glasses, a simple purple shirt with a collar, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black clogs.

She had a large, purple bruise on her forehead, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Princess Bubblegum couldn't help thinking, "_It's too bad Finn left so shortly before I stumbled upon this young lady. Imagine how disappointed he'll be." _

One of the banana cake guards also found a purse in a cotton candy bush near the body. The purse sat on Princess Bubblegum's bedside table. It was a medium sized purse, covered in a pattern of pink and purple flowers. Princess Bubblegum looked curiously at the purse now, wondering if it would give any clues as to who this girl might be. "_It would be awfully rude to snoop," _she thought while biting her lip. She glanced at the girl, but she remained silent and unmoving. Princess Bubblegum reached slowly for the handbag.

"_Uggghhh…"_

Princess Bubblegum reeled backward in response to the unexpected noise. The girl opened her eyes, blinking from the room's brightness. She turned her head to the Princess. "_Marie?"_

Princess Bubblegum shook her head. "No, dear, I'm Princess Bubblegum. Now relax. Everything is going to be fine. You lay right here while I put more water on your wash cloth."

The girl obliged, and the Princess returned shortly with a fresh cloth. Her eyes were open now, and she began squirming under the bed's covers. "Where am I? What happened?" she asked, sounding confused and frightened.

"You're in the Candy Kingdom. I found you fainted in the royal candy gardens," Princess Bubblegum explained.

The girl took on a worried expression. "By chance, did you happen to find anyone else nearby?"

The Princess shook her head once again. "No, only you. Were you traveling with someone?

The girl nodded. "Yes, my friend and I were traveling through the candy kingdom last night. There was a storm. I remember getting hit in the head with something, a tree branch perhaps, but I don't remember what happened to Marie. I don't know what to do."

Princess Bubblegum put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll find your friend in no time. I'll help you begin searching as soon as possible."

The girl gave her an appreciative smile. "Thank you, your highness. My name is Ann, by the way."

The Princess returned her smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ann. Now, shall we go to the dining hall?"

Ann agreed, but she insisted that she take her purse along. Princess Bubblegum almost asked her why, but she thought better of it and decided to let well enough alone. The Princess helped Ann to her feet and led her to the dining hall. Peppermint Butler introduced himself to Ann, and then brought out their dinner. They enjoyed a balanced meal of spaghetti and spaghetti sauce. Ann was a dainty eater, but she certainly didn't speak sparingly. She spent the majority of their mealtime telling Princess Bubblegum and the staff her life story, from her childhood to her current adventures with Marie. The Princess wanted to ask Ann to describe Marie, but Ann rarely paused, and she didn't want to be rude and interrupt.

After dinner, Princess Bubblegum took Ann by the hand and led her outside. "Come on," she said warmly. "There's someone that I'd like you to meet."

The pair walked to Lady Rainicorn's stable. Ann's eyes lit up instantly. She walked carefully up to the stall, taking care not to startle Lady. Lady poked her head out the door and happily said something in Korean when Ann rubbed her hand on her nose. "Is that a purebred rainicorn? It looks like a purebred rainicorn. I saw a rainicorn one time who was part monochromicorn. It had a rainbow colored coat, but its mane was black, and- I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

The Princess grinned pleasantly. "I'm just glad to see that you're feeling better."

They strolled back to the castle when it started getting dark outside. Princess Bubblegum directed Ann to a bathroom where she could get ready for bed. The Princess sat down at her dresser and reached for her nail polish. Her hand waved over the dresser, but she didn't feel her nail polish bottle. She looked over her dresser, and then bent over to look under it. "_Where could it be? I always put it right here," _she thought skeptically.

Ann entered the room. "Um, Princess?"

Princess Bubblegum looked up. "Oh, yes, you'll be sleeping in here with me tonight. You can have the left side of the bed."

Ann glanced at the bed. "Oh, Princess, there's no need for that. I could sleep on the floor or something."

The Princess wagged her finger. "No, we'll have none of that. I insist."

Ann gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks again, Princess. You've been very kind."

Princess Bubblegum learned the hard way that Ann was not a deep sleeper. Within five minutes of her falling asleep, she had stolen all of the blankets and was grasping them too hard to be pulled away. The Princess lay on her back and shivered.

She could feel herself slowly dozing off when she heard the bedroom window creak. She didn't have time to even consider the cause of the noise when her eyes met another pair of glowing, yellow eyes. She screamed, and whatever was floating right above her let out a shriek, its fangs glinting in the moonlight. She felt something jump on Ann's side of the bed. Her eyes darted to her left, and she screamed louder. Silhouetted in shadow, she saw a huge, hairy beast devouring Ann.


	3. Chapter 3

Princess Bubblegum continued screaming until she felt a cold hand clasp over her mouth. The lamp on her bedside table flickered to life without her consent. She found herself face to face with Marceline, who looked like she was trying desperately not to burst into laughter. The Princess's face burned a light red. She swatted Marceline's hand away. "Y-YOU BUTT! WHAT THE FUDGE MARCELINE?" she cried indignantly. She grabbed a nearby pillow and hefted it at Marceline, but she just laughed and caught it easily. "Take it easy, Bonnie. Do you want the whole Candy Kingdom to know I'm here?"

The Princess panted angrily, and suddenly became aware of noise on the other side of the bed. She turned to Ann to make sure that she was o.k. and nearly had a heart attack. Practically lying on top of her was a monstrous canine, its nose tucked between her neck and collarbone. However, Ann didn't seem very distraught about her position.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. You're suffocating me here, buddy." The wolf looked at Ann with pleading eyes and let out a low whine. Ann looked sternly at it, and it hesitantly sat up. Ann instantly wrapped her arms around its neck. "I'm glad to see you're o.k. I've missed you."

Princess Bubblegum tried to process what was happening. "You mean…the friend that you lost…your best friend, Marie…is a…a…"

"Werewolf?" Marceline interjected.

"I actually have a bit of hug wolf on my dad's side, too," Marie added.

The Princess jumped a little when she heard Marie's voice, rough, but somewhat feminine. She knew in the back of her mind that it shouldn't have surprised her that Marie could speak, but she was still a little shaken from the night's events.

Even in her panicky state, Princess Bubblegum took time to make some observations on Marie's appearance. She really wasn't any bigger that Ann. She was far from being out of shape, but it was obvious that she was more fur than muscle. Her fur was thick, wavy, colored honey brown. She had teeth and claws like razor blades, much to the Princess's discomfort. Her eyes were a dull combination of blue and grey. Oddly enough, she wore clothes: a purple baseball cap, a rusty red short sleeved shirt with a hood, and a pair of blue jean shorts (complete with a small opening for her tail).

Ann finally let go of Marie and flicked her ear. "O.k. fluffy, where have you been? I've been worried sick."

Marie winced, even though Ann hadn't flicked her hard enough for it to hurt. "What do you mean 'Where have you been'? Don't you remember last night?" Marie asked.

Ann scrunched her nose and made a face like she was thinking. "Well…sort of…"

Marie took on a critical expression. "Mm-hm, well, let me catch you up then. O.k., remember, we were travelling through the candy kingdom and that storm came out of nowhere? Well, there was a twister too, and it sucked me up, but you got hit in the head with a tree branch and fell over. I got dropped off somewhere in the Dark Scary Forest after getting slammed into a tree."

Ann stared eagerly at Marie. "And then what happened?"

Marceline raised her hand. "I can answer that. I was on my way home, just floating along, when I saw this pile of road kill. So I thought 'Looks like I'm getting a new fur coat.' I bent over to grab it, but the thing lunged at my face."

Marie interrupted, "And then we had a battle of epic proportions! Werewolf versus vampire, beauty versus beast, hunter versus-"

This time Marceline interrupted. "You mean I caught you by the throat and you flailed your arms?"

Marie grunted, "Well, yeah… but if I actually got the chance to scratch you, these bad boys would've left a pretty nasty cut."

Marceline smirked. "Fair enough. So then, I-"

Marie spoke again. "She tried to cook me!"

Princess Bubblegum's eyes widened as she turned to Marceline. "You did what?"

Marie nodded fervently. "She threw me into a vat of boiling water and rubbed me with sauce…that smelled an awful lot like flowers."

Marceline winked at the Princess and mouthed the word "bath." Princess Bubblegum turned a darker shade of pink than usual. "Um, wow, Marceline, why would you do…that?"

Marceline shrugged. "Making a coat from a living wolf is messy work. I was trying to make it a little less messy. Besides," she added, whispering to the Princess, "I think her smell was seeping into my carpet."

Princess Bubblegum eyed Marie, who now lay at the end of the bed, her head resting where Ann's feet probably were. She found it hard to believe that this wolf with knotty, matted fur had ever bathed.

Ann caught on to what Marceline had done and giggled slightly. "I thought you smelled…different."

"Anyway," Marceline continued, "Marie acted really bummed out while I was wash- I mean, basting her. I could tell she had something on her mind, and I wanted her to focus on being scared of me. I thought 'What better way to cheer her up than to take her on a trip to the Candy Kingdom to meet my good friend Bonnibelle.'"

"How thoughtful of you," the Princess said in a tone that was clearly not amused.

Ann leaned forward to scratch the back of Marie's head and glanced towards Princess Bubblegum's alarm clock. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and looked over her shoulder at everyone. "Well, I guess we should be on our way."

The Princess grabbed her hand. "Oh, no, Ann, please don't leave yet. I'm a bit worried about your head injuries. We wouldn't want you to pass out on the road. Please stay, just for one more night."

Ann smiled sleepily. "Well, if you insist. Thank you."

Marceline looked at the alarm clock as well. "Oh my glob, I don't think I can make it home before sunrise. And I sort of left my umbrella at home."

Princess Bubblegum crawled out of her bed and made her way to her walk-in closet. "I'm sure I have an umbrella in here somewhere. Ah, here it is." She emerged from the closet and held up a pink parasol covered in lace and ribbon.

Marceline blinked. "So, what's for breakfast?"


	4. Chapter 4

The group spent the day together, including Marceline, who said that she wouldn't be caught dead or undead with Princess Bubblegum's parasol. The Princess went about her royal duties, and Ann volunteered to help. Marceline appeared to be just drifting through the castle, rarely entering the same room as Princess Bubblegum. This was just as well for the Princess, as things were already awkward enough between them.

Marie was no longer in wolf form. Her appearance was similar to that of her wolf form, with her messy hair going just past her shoulders and curly bangs covering her eyes. She also had freckles sprinkled across her forehead and nose. At first, Marie followed Princess Bubblegum and Ann, sitting off to the side and watching Ann, as if she was afraid that a wind would pick Ann up and carry her away. However, after a while, it seemed that her fears had been assuaged, because she left the room to find Marceline. It wasn't long before she returned with Marceline, but someone else had joined them as well.

"Your highness, I beseech you, HELP!" Peppermint Butler shouted. Marie chased him around on all fours in the room where the Princess and Ann were trying to file documents. Marceline hovered in the doorway and smirked at the wolf pup's antics.

"STOP! HEEL!" Princess Bubblegum chased Peppermint Butler as well. He leaped into her arms, and she held him over her head, out of Marie's reach. "No! Bad girl!"

Marie stood up. "Aw, come on, Bonnibelle, we were just playing tag."

"Tag! You were trying to devour me!" Peppermint Butler protested.

The Princess sighed. "Peppermint Butler, why don't you go to the kitchen and bring Ann and me two mugs of coffee?" She set him down, and he scurried out the door. Marie started after him, but Princess Bubblegum caught her by the collar of her shirt. "As for you, young lady, as long as you are a guest in my castle, I forbid you from wreaking havoc on my staff." She released Marie and looked to Marceline. "You keep an eye on her. Understand?"

Marceline gave her a devilish grin. "You can count on me, Princess."

Throughout the course of that day, Marie chased at least a dozen different candy people, including Cinnamon Bun, Mr. Cupcake, and Peppermint Butler again. Marceline was true to her word, so she did **watch** Marie attack random citizens and yelled words of encouragement.

After a short time of relatively no trouble, just when the Princess thought that she might actually finish her work today, Marceline poked her head through the door. "Um, Princess? You might want to come see this."

Princess Bubblegum and Ann ran through the castle after Marceline as she led them to Marie. The Princess panted and faced Ann. "Is Marie always like this? Shouldn't she be calmer now that she isn't in wolf form?"

Ann shook her head. "She might just be excited. It's not every day that we're surrounded by this much sugar. Still, she's acting like she's hopped up on something."

Marceline slowed down a bit. She flipped midair so she could face them. She looked guiltily at Princess Bubblegum. "About that… would a caramel latte be enough to get Marie 'hopped up'?"

The Princess stopped in her tracks. Ann rammed into her from behind. She glared at Marceline, her hands clenched at her sides. "You…GAVE COFFEE TO A WEREWOLF!"

Marceline rubbed her neck. "I might've slipped her one at breakfast. We didn't get any sleep last night, Bonnie. She almost fell asleep into her eggs."

This time, Princess Bubblegum charged down the hall while Marceline and Ann followed. "I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW IRRESPONSIBLE YOU ARE!"

Marceline yelled back, "AT LEAST I'M LETTING HER HAVE A GOOD TIME, NOT SCREAMING AT HER AND MAKING HER FEEL MISERABLE FOR HAVING A LITTLE FUN!"

Ann panted, "Guys, slow down!"

They arrived at the front door of the Candy Castle. Marceline stayed in the shaded safety of the foyer where she could see everyone. Ann gasped. Marie was running circles around Lady Rainicorn. Lady shouted some unmentionable language in Korean and tried to zap Marie with her horn. Marie howled with laughter and dodged every blast, delighted by the now multicolored grass.

Apparently, Ann had seen enough. She marched into the field and stood before Lady. "Please, stop! My friend is just a little confused. She doesn't mean any harm."

Princess Bubblegum was surprised when Lady stopped and flew up to Ann. "_She must recognize her from last night," _she thought, smiling slightly.

Ann smiled too. "Go back to your stable. I'll calm her down. Sorry if she caused you any trouble."

Lady followed Ann's request. Meanwhile, Marie was still running circles like her head was cut off. Ann stood in her path. Marie hesitated like she was going to stop, but she stumbled and knocked both she and Ann off their feet.

Ann glared up at Marie. "How could you do this? You could've gotten seriously hurt! I am **so** tweaked at you right now!" She gave Marie a hard smack to the head. Marie whimpered and looked down at Ann with large, watery, puppy dog eyes.

The Princess was shocked. "_I can't believe she actually __**hit**__ her," _she thought, bewildered. Granted, Marie had been out of control all day to the point that Princess Bubblegum herself was tempted to spank her. Still, it wasn't exactly her fault. **Marceline **was the one that gave her caffeine. "_Besides,"_ she continued in her mind, _"she didn't cause any real harm. Sure, she aggravated Lady and scared Ann, but she was just playing. She didn't mean to hurt anyone."_

Ann huffed and squirmed under Marie's weight. "Now, get off me, you crazy mutt."

Marie didn't move. "Come on, Annie, don't be mad. I'm sorry."

Ann growled and folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah. Whatever."

Marie looked down sadly at Ann, and then her face lit up as if she had gotten an idea. She wiggled her fingers against Ann's neck. Ann appeared to have a spasm before she shoved Marie's hands away.

"Hey, stop it!" Marie grinned and tickled her again. Soon it broke out into an all-out tickle fight, right in the middle of the field. It wasn't long before Ann got Marie on her back, smiling wickedly as her tickles made Marie howl ecstatically.

The Princess smiled as she watched the children play. The way in which they had argued and made up reminded her of herself and Marceline as kids. In fact, she almost swore that she could think of a time where something exactly like this had occurred. Her smile fell. "_But things are different now," _she thought sadly. "_We are different now."_

She suddenly sensed someone behind her. She turned and saw Marceline, also watching Ann and Marie play. She looked down at Princess Bubblegum with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Boop," she uttered, and she gently poked the Princess in the side.

Princess Bubblegum jumped and grabbed Marceline's hand, perhaps holding it a little longer than necessary before letting go. "Hey, quit it," Princess Bubblegum muttered, but she couldn't hide her small smile and the growing blush on her cheeks. "_Maybe we aren't a lost cause yet."_


	5. Chapter 5

During dinner, which was once again spaghetti and tomato sauce, Marie casually excused herself and went into the nearest bathroom. The group could here Marie grunting and growling in pain. Princess Bubblegum looked up from her plate and glanced around the table, silently asking if they should be concerned. Marceline shook her head, and Ann never even looked up. When Marie emerged, she was in wolf form. "Ah, that's better," she announced, purposely making it even more awkward.

Ann put her fork down. "So, ladies, it has come to my attention that, well, Marie and I haven't even explained why we came to the Candy Kingdom."

Marie stopped shoveling meatballs into her dripping maw. "Oh, yeah! You guys have to come with us!"

The Princess gave Ann a puzzled look. "What is it that we're going to?"

Marie grinned. "Only _Sweet Tooth_, the most awesome band ever, live and in concert!"

Princess Bubblegum froze, her pasta filled fork half-way to her mouth. She put it back on her plate and glanced at Marceline, who was now staring at the floor.

Ann looked between the two, suddenly concerned. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. Marie and I will be just fine on our own."

The Princess held up a hand. "No, there's no need for that. Don't worry, we'll come too. Just… give me a moment to change outfits."

Princess Bubblegum hurried up the stairs to her royal chamber and shut the door. She took a breath and walked over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out the first shirt on the left. She held it up and inspected it. It was a black t-shirt with a picture of two chocolate-covered marshmallows being impaled with wooden sticks. A snake twisted around the bases of the sticks with its jaw opened wide, revealing sharp fangs.

The Princess smiled. She remembered when Marceline had taken her to a _Sweet Tooth_ concert for her birthday. It was the best gift that anyone had ever given her. The souvenir shirt had just been the icing on the birthday cake.Hesitantly, she slipped her dress off and replaced it with the shirt and an old pair of black skinny jeans.

When she came back down stairs, Marceline pretended to ignore Princess Bubblegum's familiar choice of clothes. However, the Princess could see her staring and blushing out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, looks like we're all set," Ann announced. Princess Bubblegum noticed that they had a slight change in clothes as well. Ann was wearing a black biker helmet while Marie was wearing a hot pink dog collar.

The Princess tried to be polite. "Oh, Ann, what a lovely…head accessory. It even matches your clogs."

Marceline snickered. "Nice collar, fluffy. The snooty dog show isn't very far from here."

Marie growled. If her face wasn't covered with fur at the moment, Princess Bubblegum was sure that it would be bright red.

Ann frowned. "To be clear, the collar is because…well, most of the kingdoms that we've visited aren't the most hospitable to wolves of any kind."

Marie mumbled, "Please don't tell me I need the leash too."

Ann thought for a moment. "It's a rock concert. I think you'll be fine, even in the Candy Kingdom."

The Princess felt guilty and ashamed. She couldn't believe that she had allowed people like Marie to be treated as a second class citizen in her kingdom. She knew that she had to put a stop to this as soon as possible.

"As for the helmet," Ann continued, "that's because **someone **isn't always the most aware of a passenger on her back."

Marie grunted, "I said that I was sorry. Besides, that mountain goat was delicious. You said so yourself while you were eating it."

Ann threw up her hands in exasperation. "That doesn't mean it was worth falling off a mountain for!"

"Um, guys?" Marceline nodded towards the door.

"Oh, right. We should probably get going," Ann noted, putting her argument on pause.

The group made their way outside. Ann climbed onto Marie's back and sat in an upright position like she was riding a horse. Princess Bubblegum walked awkwardly over to Marceline. She placed one arm around her shoulder and the other around her waist, blushing as she tried to avoid eye contact.

Marie took off running at full speed. Marceline rocketed into the air and soared just above the other two girls. Neither the Princess nor Marceline spoke during the short trip to the concert, so Princess Bubblegum enjoyed the silence and the feeling of cool air whipping against her face.

They arrived just in time for the opening act. Ann and Marie pushed their way through the crowd to get a little closer to the stage. The Princess and Marceline remained in the back together.

Throughout the concert, Princess Bubblegum kept an eye on Ann and Marie. Ann waved her arms in the air and sang along. Marie bounced up and down and quite literally howled along.

The Princess self-consciously kept her arms folded at her chest and tapped her foot to the beat. Marceline hovered in the air next to her and seemed to lose herself in the song. After a while, though, Marceline took notice of Princess Bubblegum's discomfort and settled on the ground next to her.

She leaned forward and whispered into Princess Bubblegum's ear, "Do you want to go someplace quiet?"

The Princess glanced at Ann and Marie, still singing and having a good time. "But, the kids…"

"They'll be fine. We won't go very far," Marceline reassured her.

Princess Bubblegum nodded sleepily. Marceline led her to a grassy meadow from which they could still see and hear the concert, but at least now it was quiet enough to hear themselves think.

Marceline fell onto her back, and the Princess followed her example. For a while, they said nothing, wordlessly staring at the beauty of the night sky and enjoying the cool air.

Princess Bubblegum felt something graze her hand. Marceline broke the silence and muttered, "I thought you said you only wore it at night."

The Princess curled her hand around Marceline's hand. She smirked and said with a hint of sarcasm, "I do. It is night."


	6. Chapter 6

When Princess Bubblegum awakened after falling asleep at the concert, the first thing she noticed was Ann and Marie. Ann had fallen asleep on Marie's back. She had wrapped her arms around Marie's neck and her legs around Marie's waist similarly to how she had clutched the Princess's covers during the previous night. Marie walked at a leisurely pace, looking over her shoulder occasionally to make certain that Ann wasn't in danger of falling off. Marie must have been tired as well, since her eyes drooped and she couldn't stop yawning.

The second thing that Princess Bubblegum noticed was that someone was carrying her as well. She gazed up to see none other than Marceline, floating low to the ground next to Marie and holding the Princess very much like a bride. Princess Bubblegum felt her face burn, feeling more than a little embarrassed about their position. She squirmed in Marceline's grip, trying to get back on her feet.

Marceline looked down and grinned slightly. "Morning, sunshine. Sleep well?"

The Princess's face took on an even darker shade. "I slept quite soundly, yes. Now, if you please, put me down."

Marceline frowned. "I'm a vampire with super strength, Princess. It's not that hard for me to carry a lightweight like you."

Princess Bubblegum nodded. "I'm well aware of your abilities, Marceline, but I'd rather walk." The Princess punctuated her statement with a yawn.

Marceline argued, "I know you're worn out, Bonnie. Why won't you let me carry you?"

Princess Bubblegum was at a loss for words. "_I mean, what am I supposed to say? 'I don't want people to get the wrong idea?' She'll think I'm weird," _she thought.

Marceline scowled. "I really don't get you. First, you get all mad at me for teasing you. Then, you seem to start warming up to me. Now, I try doing something nice for you, and you refuse to let me. "

The Princess scowled back. "You're impossible. I just wanted to walk."

Marceline scoffed. "Man, you're confusing."

Princess Bubblegum's eyes widened. "I'm confusing? You're the confusing one!"

Marceline raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

The Princess nearly shouted, "Yes, really! You-"

"Um, guys?"

Princess Bubblegum and Marceline both whipped around to face Ann. They instantly fell silent. Marie was growling menacingly at something in the woods nearby. The fur along the ridge of her back stood on end. She bared her razor-sharp teeth and claws. The Princess noticed that her eyes flashed from their normal shade of gray to piercing blue. Without changing her expression, she looked over her shoulder at Ann. "Get off," she snarled. Ann obliged and went to stand in front of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. The Princess noticed that her voice was rough and raspy, lacking any femininity that was normally characteristic to Marie's voice.

Marie took off and lunged into the brush out of sight. Ann stared anxiously at the place where Marie had entered the forest. Marceline slowly put Princess Bubblegum down and took her axe base off her back. The Princess did her best to remain calm. "_It isn't necessarily something dangerous," _she tried to convince herself. "_I saw Marie dive for a chipmunk on the way to the concert. It's probably just a squirrel, or maybe a bunny, or-"_

The bushes rustled, the trees swayed, and out popped Marie, but she wasn't alone. She was attached to the face of a creature more than twice her size. It was as black as night with a single white stripe running the length of its back. Its most obvious characteristic was its tail, nearly the same length as its body.

The Princess couldn't contain her horror. "AH! SKUNK BEAST!"

Marie snarled and clawed one of the creature's eyes out. The monster roared out in pain. It whipped its head back and forth, trying to shake Marie off. Marie was sent flying towards the group. Princess Bubblegum dodged one way while Marceline flew in the opposite direction. Marie slammed into Ann, once again knocking both of them over. The enormous skunk turned and sprayed them with foul smelling liquid strong enough to render them unconscious.

Princess Bubblegum gasped, "No, girls!"

The creature faced the Princess. It howled and charged wildly at her. Princess Bubblegum screamed. She shut her eyes and raised her arms in a feeble attempt to shield herself. Suddenly, she felt impact, but it wasn't the skunk beast.

The Princess timidly opened an eye. "Marceline?"

They jolted to a stop midair. Marceline hissed and looked over her shoulder. The monster had caught one of her legs in its mouth. She kicked at its good eye with her other leg. Its jaw loosened, and she managed to pull her leg free. Princess Bubblegum felt sick when she saw that it was dripping with red liquid.

Marceline deposited the Princess onto the highest branch of the nearest tree. She then swooped back down to deal with the beast. She propelled towards it, her axe base raised. She swung wildly, but it smacked the axe out of her hand with a huge clawed paw. The axe spun through the air and was impaled into the tree not an inch from Princess Bubblegum's head. The Princess gasped and tried to scoot away from it.

The creature forced Marceline to the ground in its grasp. It loomed over her, hungrily drooling onto her face. She struggled and even bit the monster, but it was no use. Marceline looked up, and she and Princess Bubblegum made eye contact.

The Princess stared at Marceline for a moment, and then nodded. She crawled back to where the axe was lodged into the tree. Using all of her stress-fueled strength, she wrenched the axe out of the tree. Her force caused her to stumble backwards and fall from the safety of her tree branch. She managed to roll over in the air and raise the axe over her head. She rocketed towards the skunk beast's head. "_Well, here goes nothing."_

Suddenly, she heard a sickening crunch followed by a squishing sound. The surface beneath her feet shifted. She panted and grinned chaotically. Cold arms wrapped around her from behind. "You did good, Bonnie. Now, let's get out of here."


	7. Chapter 7

Princess Bubblegum soaked a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol. "Now, hold still. This might hurt a bit." She gently rubbed it on the wound on Marceline's leg.

Marceline let out a low hiss, but otherwise remained motionless. When the Princess had finished, she tightly wrapped a bandage around it.

"There, all better?"

"I guess."

The pair was currently in Princess Bubblegum's royal latrine. Marceline sat on the toilet while the Princess sat on a stool and dressed her wounds.

As Princess Bubblegum worked on a cut on Marceline's arm, she asked, "I meant to ask you, if vampires have no blood, what were you bleeding?"

Marceline winced as the cotton ball grazed her cut. "I drink the color red, so of course the fluids in my body are red too."

The Princess nodded. "Oh, o.k."

There was an awkward silence. Princess Bubblegum applied a bandage to Marceline's cheek. She murmured, "Thank you, by the way, for saving my life."

She heard Marceline respond quietly, "Well, you were pretty awesome back there too. I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't done that."

There was another even more awkward silence.

The Princess suddenly looked up. "Marceline."

Marceline said at the same time, "Princess."

They stared at each other for a moment, and then they burst out laughing. Marceline whipped a tear from her eye. "So, Bonnibelle, are we…cool?"

Princess Bubblegum looked into her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, Marceline, we're cool."

Careful to avoid her injuries, the Princess gently wrapped her arms around Marceline's shoulders. Marceline hugged her back, burying her face in the crook of Princess Bubblegum's neck. Their embrace lasted a minute or two.

As they hesitantly broke away, the Princess couldn't resist giving Marceline a small kiss, right above the new bandage on her cheek. She giggled when Marceline's hand flew to her cheek and her face turned a light pink. She had kissed Marceline on occasion when they were kids. It always delighted her because it was one of her few actions that made Marceline flustered instead of her for a change.

Marceline responded similarly to how she would've as a child. She dramatically pretended to wipe the kiss off and grunted, "What the glob, Bonnie? That's gross." Even as she said it, however, she couldn't hide her toothy grin.

Then Marceline farted.

At least, that's what it sounded like at first to Princess Bubblegum. She turned her head towards the bath tub and discovered the true source of the noise. "_Oh, right. I almost forgot about them."_

Ann and Marie sat in the bath tub, covered from head to toe in the Princess's tomato sauce supply. Marie was once again by now in human form. They both wore their clothes, as their clothes reeked just as badly as them. Ann poured a cup full of tomato paste over Marie's head. Marie made a farting sound as she spit the excess out of her mouth. Ann began working the juice into Marie's hair.

Ann stuck out her tongue. She leaned forward and whispered into Marie's ear, "Man, grown-ups are weird."

Marie shook her head, splashing Ann with sauce. "You can say that again."

"Are you girls sure that you have to leave?"

The group stood right outside the border of the Candy Kingdom. Ann and Marie had spent the rest of the day with Princess Bubblegum and Marceline, because they only traveled at night, when Marie was in wolf form.

Ann shook her head. "Sorry, guys. Things to do, places to see, you know?"

They began saying their goodbyes. Princess Bubblegum hugged Ann. "Keep an eye on that crazy mutt of yours," the Princess whispered to Ann. Ann smiled and said, "Alright, don't let that vampire of yours get into too much trouble."

Marie nearly knocked Marceline out of the air when she jumped up on her. Marceline quickly shoved Marie off, but then she smiled and gave her a pat on the head. Ann walked up to Marceline. They exchanged smiles and bumped fists.

Marie trotted up to Princess Bubblegum. She cringed, expecting Marie to knock her off her feet. Instead, Marie stood up on her hind legs and took the Princess's hand between her forepaws. She gave Princess Bubblegum's hand a small lick, like a knight kissing a young maiden's hand. She grinned at the Princess, amusement dancing in her eyes. "It's been a pleasure, your highness."

Princess Bubblegum blushed slightly and giggled. "_O.k. that was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen." _She snatched Marie's paw and pulled her into a hug. Marie squirmed slightly, probably very uncomfortable. The Princess smirked and commented, "What's wrong, Marie? You did say that you're part hug wolf."

Marceline gave Princess Bubblegum thumbs up and snickered at Marie's embarrassment. However, Ann didn't seem to find it funny. She marched up to the pair and grabbed Marie by the ear. "Let's go, Casanova," she said irritably as she dragged Marie away. Marie whined in discomfort, but she got back on four legs and Ann mounted her. Ann said teasingly to Marie, "You've already got a partner in crime, fluffy, and she's the jealous type."

They looked back and waved before riding into the distance. Princess Bubblegum and Marceline waved back and watched them go. When they couldn't see Ann and Marie anymore, Marceline flew the Princess back to her royal bed chamber.

When they arrived, Princess Bubblegum noticed something on her dresser. "Oh dear, Ann forgot her purse." She grabbed the purse. "Quick, Marceline, you'd better fly after them before-" Suddenly, something fell out of the purse. "Is that…my nail polish!"

Without a second thought, she emptied the purse onto her bed. The contents included the Princess's silver-encrusted hair brush, several pieces of her gold jewelry, and even one of her tiaras. Ann's last words before they had left echoed in her mind. "_You've already got a partner in crime."_

Marceline's mouth hung open. "Should we go after them?"

Princess Bubblegum opened her mouth to say yes, but then another thought occurred to her. "_Why would they leave this behind? Did they forget about it? Or… maybe they had a change in heart."_

The Princess smiled at Marceline. "I don't think that will be necessary. We'll let this go for now."

Before Marceline could respond, they heard a knock at the door. Princess Bubblegum called out, "Peppermint Butler?" The door opened. Finn and Jake stumbled in.

"Hey, Princess! Uh, hey, Marceline," Finn said.

Marceline grinned. "Well, hello to you too, hero."

"We just wanted to come by and let you know that the Cloud King has been taken care of. Sorry it took us so long," Jake explained.

The Princess nodded. "Very good. Thanks guys."

"Did you guys do anything while we were gone?" Finn asked.

Princess Bubblegum looked at Marceline, then back at Finn. "Nothing much. We just, you know, hung out as buds."

Finn grinned happily. "Really?"

Jake looked suspiciously at Marceline. "Yeah guys, really?"

Marceline chuckled. "Yes Jake, really."

Finn clapped his hands together. "Well, all right then. In that case, who's up for movie night? Me and Jake found a copy of Heat Signature 5 in a trash heap."

The Princess smiled and winked at Marceline. "Sounds like fun. Just give me a moment to change outfits."

**The End**


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